1. Field
This disclosure relates to systems and methods for combining satellite and aerial imagery with map data wherein data is segmented according to predefined regions such that the data is suitably partitioned for parallel processing.
2. Background Art
The field of aerial imagery is concerned with capturing photographs of land masses over large areas. Aerial photographs are often combined. For example, a panoramic image can be made by stitching several photographs together. Large sets of aerial or satellite photographs can be combined and used in online map systems. Another area in which aerial imagery is used is in the field of Geographic Information Systems (GIS). A Geographic Information System or Geospatial Information System is any system that presents data specifically associated with spatial locations. An example of a GIS system is a system that correlates aerial or satellite images with maps.
One problem encountered in the field of aerial imagery is the need to break up enormous data sets for processing of images. There are many solutions to processing very large images, such as tiling schemes, hierarchal levels of detail, and encoding progressive resolutions. These methods are deficient because they break up or degrade the image structures. Traditional approaches are especially problematic when dealing with images of a city. Images of a city contain structure in the form of buildings, roads, bridges, etc. Problems arise when an image is broken up into segments called tiles, and structures span the tiles. For example, if a building or a bridge is split amongst two tiles, it can be a difficult problem to stitch the image back together.
Systems and methods are needed that suitably partition large image data sets for parallel processing.